Prepping ribs too early?

[Yong]

I'll be smoking some baby backs on Sunday for a dinner party. Problem is I'll be a bit pressed for time as I need to prep/grill other stuff. I've read a few rib rub recipes and methods and they all pretty much say to prep an hour or two prior to the smoker.

But would it be too early to prep the night before? Prepping the ribs Sat night instead of Sun afternoon would be a huge help. But are there any down sides to this?

 

[Dwain Pannell]

Go for it. I've prepped the night before when pressed for time and they turned out great. Some folks prep the night before as a habit.

 

[Len Dennis]

You can cut and trim them the night before(no rub). Put them in a plastic bag in the fridge overnight.

Put the rub on in the morning. How long does it take to shake the rub on? A minute maybe?

Putting the rub on the night before will greatly intensify the flavour BUT you will ruin the (pre)bark by putting them coated in the bag
.

Cut-trim-de membrane, bag 'em and refrigerate.

 

[Steve Whiting]

And if your rub has salt in it the ribs can take on a hammy taste if left on to long. I would prep the ribs but apply the seasoning when you fire up the cooker.

 

[Tim D.]

And if your rub has salt in it the ribs can take on a hammy taste if left on to long. I would prep the ribs but apply the seasoning when you fire up the cooker.

This is what happened to me when I first started smoking ribs. I applied the rub a good 24 hours before smoke and they really tasted like ham. Never again! Now I rub them when the fire is starting. Just my experience......good luck!

Tim

 

[RogerS]

I guess it depends on the rub. I make my own a Brown Sugar base with other spices and I've vacuumed sealed them for a few days with my rub on them. It depends on the rub. If a lot of salt I wouldn't prep the night before.

 

[Yong]

Ham, huh? Interesting. Again, learned something new on this board. Thx all. Very much appreciated.

 

[Chris E]

I'm with Len. Do all the rib trimming and remove membrane then bag them up over night. In the morning I light the fire and rub the ribs while the fire lights up. I also use a mustard slather under my rub but don't want that on for hours either because of the salt and vinegar in the mustard.

That's why your guests love to come over for BBQ---because its a pain in the butt to do it right so not many people do it.

Also make sure you have your favorite beer cold and someone to open it for you while your hands are dirty. It's ok to drink beer whenever you are BBQ-ing regardless of the clock! Have fun.

 

[Derrick Llewellyn]

With all our comps we get our meat inspected and then I trim, rub, and then wrap them and put in a cooler till morning. Now our rub has no salt so I have no issues doing this. I have had the "ham" issue when I used a commercial rub and let sit that long.

 

[timothy]

It's ok to drink beer whenever you are BBQ-ing regardless of the clock! Have fun.

Truer words have never been spoken IMO!

I would just add to all the great tips is avoid "enhanced" ribs. Before I joined this site and knew any better I always bought those Hormel " tender & juicy " ribs. Those definitely tasted like ham/jerky if prepped the nite B-4 with a store bought rub.

Tim

 

[Jak Stepan]

im with Rog - - depends on the rub. mixes with a lot of preservatives and nitrates do affect the meat on long overnight marinades. spice mixes and rubs with common spices and ingredients are fine for overnight marinades.

don't lift the lid...

 

[Ralph Q]

If the rub has salt in it, stick to the one hour before. Leaving any salt based rub on for too long definitely alters the taste of the meat.

 

[John Segura]

I prep the night before all the time, especially at comps. My pre-rub has lots of salt in it.. no adverse affects yet.. my ribs were fairly consistent last year too.